Monday, 26 January 2015

‘Paris Hemsworth’s Road To Wonderland’ is the second novel in a new adult series, which tells the tale of a seventeen-year-old girl's tragedy. A tragedy that steers her down an unlikely path full of twists and turns.

Paris is a naive, feisty fashionista who floats, carefree, through her life in 1990’s Manchester, thanks to her three great loves: her father, her best friend, and her motorbike. Izzy Moffit is a shy, quiet, literature lover who has been surrounded by violence daily, seeking solace in movies and music. The two are an unlikely duo, but since the age of four, they have been inseparable, always promising to be there for each other no matter what.

That is until one day Paris receives heart-shattering news which turns her life upside-down. Suddenly, their friendship is tested in ways it never has before, and just when things are starting to look up for them, adulthood steps in and kicks them both in unimaginable ways. Paris is forced into a life full of fear, guilt and doubt, which sees her evolve from the feisty, fun young girl she once was into something she never thought she’d be. Weak.

Having hit rock bottom, Paris is left with two options: climb the ladder back up or continue to swim in the sea of despair. The first option is easier said than done when you have no hope or faith left, when the loves of your life have all moved on, and you think you’re alone in the world. In the war against addiction, Paris knows it is only a matter of time before something has to give, but she is unable to predict at what cost.

Author Bio

Francesca is a self-confessed drifter, never quite fitting in anywhere until she discovered the love of reading two years ago. Books proved to be non-judgemental, loyal and thought provoking, so much so that she was inspired to create her own world. A world where she could channel her every day thoughts and emotions to deal with the daily grind which we call ‘life’.

Francesca’s biggest accomplishments to date are the two little ladies that share her heart, closely followed by the one thing she is very proud to say: “I wrote a bloody novel!” She’s a Yorkshire lass and a secret romantic at heart, with an eclectic taste in music and a great love for films - all of which continue to be a source of creativity as well as well deserved relaxation moments.

I was gifted a copy of the first book in this series and fell in love with Izzy and Paris. Their friendship appeared so out of balance on paper, but for those two young ladies, they were a team, sisters since early childhood.

In the first book, we saw Paris and her parents share their life with Izzy to help her escape the abusive home she was living in. Paris had the picture perfect life; the only cloud to her day was worrying about Izzy. Once they were able to take Izzy into their home all was perfect in Paris’ world. As the first book continued we saw the tides shift and it was clear that Paris was the one who needed to be saved and Izzy was going to have to be the one to create a perfect life to bring Paris to.

Paris Hemsworth’s Road to Wonderland is the story of what really happened to Paris during the dark times that was eluded to in book one. I won’t go into great detail about the events that will bring Paris to her knees, if you have read book one you will already have an idea. What you are about to find out though is the truth behind her shattered heart and soul was much deeper and dramatic than we even imagined. The author has told Paris’ story in a way that will rip your heart out especially if you are like me and cherished the brightness of Paris before the first heart breaking experience happened.

You will see Paris’ light grow dim in this story, continuing till finally Izzy will have to dig through the ashes of what is left to find and rescue her “sister”. I feel the story shows that it isn’t always the bad choices that break a person, it is sometimes the things we have no control over in life that shoves a person off the mountain and gravity and speed of trying to survive and not die is what keeps the downward roll going. Paris was in a place that she had never known existed, the dark tunnels of hell. She didn’t have time or the strength to think through her choices, she grabbed on to whatever was there that promised to numb her feelings and help her live again.

I am not sure how you can read this and not be overcome with emotions and feel the need to dig your way into the story and save her yourself. This is a story of love, friendship, loss and redemption. Paris will survive the hell, but will she recover in the process? Will we ever see the hyper, happy go lucky girl that we fell in love with in the first book? Izzy and Paris both proved that in a true friendship there are no score cards. Where Paris gave all she had to give to save Izzy, the love and devotion was returned when Paris needed to be rescued. She knew Izzy would be there, even when she didn’t feel she was worth the effort.

This is a powerful story, well written and you can tell the author put her heart and soul on the line with this plot. She gave us laughter, heart break, empathy and strength in the story of these two beautiful young ladies. I can hardly wait to see what is coming next in this series.